You and I
by Consistently Inconsistant
Summary: Unusual circumstances start a friendship between Tucker and Paulina, one that slowly begins to develop into something more. As it turns out, there's a lot more to both of them than meets the eye. But her new relationship with him puts her closer and closer to figuring out Danny's secret, and their friends are less than supportive of their newfound bond... Tucker/Paulina.
1. Snowfall

**AN:** Although I thought about entering this over at the 60 Lines Challenge at LiveJournal, I sincerely doubt I'm going to write 60 chapters of this. Instead, while I will be following the themes, I'm just going to take this as far as its natural conclusion. Padding a fanfic is something I just don't think is right. It smacks of review mongering. That said, I _would_ still like reviews if you have suggestions, or feel I have areas I could improve in, or see some errors I need to correct. I've never written Paulina before, so I'm sure my characterization will be off, and I appreciate any thoughts on how I could do better. I apologize this starts out on such a bleak note, as well.

Line prompt for this chapter: with dark circles under the eyes. (You're supposed to use the line in the fic, unlike a theme challenge, so the prompts might sound a bit odd.)

* * *

It all started with a joke.

Tucker didn't have anything in particular against Paulina other than that she'd hurt Danny and Sam. What he felt for her was secondhand hate at most, that kind of dislike that came from being protective of his best friends. His friends were like the siblings he'd never had. And although she hadn't done anything recently, there was just some part of him that longed to take a verbal shot at her. Call it protectiveness for his friends or pettiness against the popular girl; it could've honestly been either. Regardless, he'd seen her walking down the hall just as the late bell rang and he'd spoken without thinking. Tucker was never particularly good at insults, so the line he had ended up using hadn't even been original or clever, just a cliché.

"What's with all the black, Paulina? Did someone die?"

She stopped walking. Her shoulders shook, and she bent her head downward. And then she just _broke_, tears falling down her face as she buried her face in her hands. "_Si_."

"I - I'm so sorry. I didn't know, I- oh, God." To say he felt like the worst human being on the planet was an understatement. Come to think of it, she hadn't been at school the past couple of days… Tucker reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling like he had to do something to make up for this. "Come on. If we go outside and put some snow on your eyes, it'll look like you weren't crying. That way nobody will say anything."

"G-good thinking. I don't wanna face the girls' bathroom right now," she admitted with unusual softness.

When she wiped her eyes he noticed she hadn't even applied make up today. When Sam did that it usually meant she was sick. Tucker felt his heart sink. Paulina was serious, and he had just twisted the knife deeper for her. He felt like the loser she always said he was. Her hair hadn't been styled, just pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of the neck, and her face was downcast, with dark circles under the eyes. She didn't even look like herself, to be honest. Why, why, _why_ had he said anything to her? Sam was apparently right when she said boys could be insensitive. He held the door open for Paulina, the winter air hitting them both at the same time. She inhaled and exhaled slowly before she stepped out, following Tucker to behind the school, where no one was likely to spot them. She looked small against the vast white backdrop of freshly fallen snow. For a moment Tucker just stood there, mentally kicking himself for opening his big mouth. In the cold light of day her tiredness seemed painfully obvious. He wondered if she'd gotten any sleep lately.

"I've never skipped a class before," Paulina said quietly, breaking the silence. "How much trouble do you get in for that?"

"Depends on the teacher, but… given why you're skipping class, I think they'll understand. If they don't, take it to the principal. If this doesn't count as an excused absence I don't know what does." He studied her face, trying to see if his words had in any way reassured her. He really was the wrong person for it, yet he'd rather die than leave anybody like this. It wouldn't be right, not after what he'd said. "I'm sorry, you know. I was way out of line."

"My mom…" Paulina started, and tears welled up in her teal-green eyes anew.

"Hey, you don't have to explain anything to me. I'm the asshole that made fun of you, remember? You-" That was as far as he got before she wrapped her arms around him, buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed, so hard her entire body shook with the effort.

After a pause as his mind processed this was indeed happening, he wrapped his arms around her awkwardly. Tucker didn't say anything like 'it's okay' or 'I understand'. He had no idea what it was like to lose a parent. And if it was anything near as bad as he'd heard from other people no, no it was not okay. Things weren't going to feel okay for a long time. Telling her it was okay was a lie. So all he could do was wrap his arms around her a little tighter, and let her leave tearstains on his jacket. Like he cared about his appearance. She had lost her _mom_. His problems were nothing right now by comparison, he just wished he knew what else to do. Tucker wasn't Goth, he hadn't studied mourning, and he'd been fortunate enough that he'd never lost someone in his family. What was he supposed to do right now?

"Sh-she was a police officer, b-back in Mexico, a-a-and," Paulina tried to explain, gasping for breath. "S-since she w-wouldn't be a crooked c-cop like the rest of t-them, her partner…" The Latina began crying anew. "Her own _partner_ s-s-shot…"

Tucker brushed a strand of her hair out of her face. "Your mother was a hero, Paulina. And that man was caught, right? They'll have to try him. There'd be too much public outcry otherwise. She blew open all the corruption in the precinct with this."

"But w-why… why…"

"I don't know. I don't have any answers. All I know is, your mother is the bravest woman I've ever heard of, and if anyone teases you about this I'll glitch out all of their cellphones." The black boy sighed, but his eyes were serious. "It's the least I owe you for that jab earlier."

"…why didn't she move somewhere less dangerous?!" she burst out, half-hysterical. "My uncle in Riverside a-asked her so many t-times-"

"People needed her where she was. She cared too much about them to leave them unprotected," he said softly, rubbing her arm in what he hoped was a comforting way. He thought about Danny, and how the half ghost boy was considering not going to college because it would leave Amity Park unprotected. It was the same kind of situation, in a way. "When did all of this happen, Paulina?"

"M-Monday." It was just above a whisper.

And she was back in school by Thursday, trying to act like nothing happened. She was pushing herself too far too fast. He hugged her in earnest this time. She laid her head on his shoulder, content to stand there. Paulina was different without make up and overly stylish clothes. She looked more down to Earth, more vulnerable, like just another person. She wasn't some high and mighty popularity queen. She was a girl with the same emotions and pain and problems as anybody else. Who was this Paulina with tears in her eyes, soft spoken words and love in her heart, and why had she taken so long to reveal herself? Was popularity worth trying to act superior, snobby and cold?

It hit him then she probably couldn't even go to her popular friends with this because they'd use it as a chance to jockey for most popular kid in school. They might act sympathetic, but it would just be an act, nothing more. There would be no way to tell who really cared and who just wanted to look caring. They might even use her breakdown as a way to push her down on the popularity scale or start talking behind her back. They'd make up all kinds of stories if they saw her like this. She was trapped. She was alone even in a crowd of people, people she'd have to face day after day while maintaining a facade everything was alright. But things weren't alright, weren't even in the same zipcode as alright. What Paulina really needed a shoulder to cry on without consequences.

Tucker couldn't tell her why this had all happened. He couldn't make this okay. The one thing he could do was be that shoulder, even if he wasn't sure how he of all people had ended up in this position. It didn't matter. What mattered was the shaking girl in his arms, who had fallen so far she barely resembled her normal self. It was like the light had gone out of her eyes. Tucker would have given anything to hear her call him loser or see her roll her eyes. Something was just so _wrong_ about seeing her like this that he couldn't help wanting to fix things. Tucker might be insensitive, he might not know how to deal with girls most of the time, but he wasn't cruel. The way she was right now was just something he couldn't walk away from. He'd have to look up grief and mourning on the internet, try to puzzle out what to do. Surely his fellow nerds had done research into this. There had to be more he could do. Some research might make this easier later.

For the moment, though, he just held her close and rubbed her back gently, and she seemed content with that.


	2. Snacks

**AN:** Thank you to all of my reviewers! I was worried a story with such an obscure pairing wouldn't get much of a chance, but so far everyone's been very supportive. That means a lot to me and I appreciate it. I also appreciate those of you who have put this on your favorites list or alerts. Even if you don't say anything, it's still support, and it makes me smile to know someone out there likes my writing. I am worried about making Paulina too out of character, but keep in mind she's not where she has to put up a front for the other popular kids right now. We all act differently depending on who we're with.

Anyway, thank you all for reading and giving this a shot. Feel free to tell me if there's anything I can improve on or you have suggestions of some kind. All feedback is appreciated here since I'm new to writing.

Line prompt used in this chapter: the world made sense.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Paulina asked softly. Her boots made faint crunching noises in the snow, and falling flakes got caught in her hair. She walked alongside Tucker, looking a little better.

"You didn't eat at lunch today. When _was_ the last time you ate?" he asked quietly. She turned her head so she didn't have to look at him. It was all the answer he needed. He wasn't sure if this was a normal grieving thing, but it wasn't healthy, so he was going to stop it. "Remember the Snack Station?"

"Of course. All the cool middle school kids went there." She considered his logic. It was highly unlikely any high schooler who valued their reputation would step inside the place, and those who didn't care about their reputation weren't likely to be there during the middle of the school day anyway. "You really are smart."

"I thought it might be easier than just rubbing snow on your face and marching back into class." Tucker watched as her eyes brightened slightly at the sight of the old brick building, whose white paint was in a constant state of disrepair. "Hasn't changed a bit, huh?"

"Yeah… remember when we were in grade school and everybody was trying to sneak in here? Like it's some exclusive thing," she chuckled weakly, but her smile was sad. Her eyes were distant for a moment, filled with memories "Everything was simpler back then. The world made sense."

Tucker gingerly touched her arm, unsure how to handle Paulina when she was so unlike herself. Or was this the real Paulina and he had simply never seen it before? Regardless, she rewarded him by looping her arm through his as they crossed the street to the former middle school hot spot. The Snack Station was small, but filled with junk food. A selection of cold sodas and bags of chips took up one wall, an array of candy you could buy by the dollar (by cents if you were low on cash) took up the wall opposite the door, and the far wall was nothing but crazy ice cream flavors. The nacho and hot dog machines, less used, took up the remaining space. It was a poorly lit but clean little building strategically placed inbetween the middle school and the high school, though it was closer to the middle school by far.

When they were middle schoolers they'd all congregated here. Outside of it, inside, by the tables outside, in the alleyway between it and the nearest building. Danny and Sam had always preferred the steps of the library across the street. Dash was less likely to bother them that way. Before school, Tucker had always run in to grab an energy drink. Back then his biggest concern had been when the latest Chzo Mythos game would come out and if he was going to stay the shortest kid in his class forever. Everything _had_ been simpler back then. They'd all thought they were facing insurmountable problems just doing normal things. Now, with ghosts and death and dating facing them down, it seemed more like a dream than memory.

"I used to come here last summer," Paulina admitted softly. "Dash stopped me. He didn't want people to think I was a loser. He didn't want to date a loser. He grabbed my wrist so hard I had to wear thick bracelets for a week to hide the bruises."

Tucker felt a mixture of fear and anger spike up in him at the implications of that last statement. "Paulina-"

"He was so sweet when we were in fifth grade," she continued softly, her voice quiet. "He used to buy me things all the time from here. Rock candy, lollipops, those awful Corn Nut things. I hated some of it. But I always ate it. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. And now… now, you know what he said when I talked to him on Monday? That my mom's none of his business. He just wanted to know if I'm going with him to the winter dance – what're they calling it this year? The 'Snow Ball'?" She chuckled, but it was hollow, plastic, and she shut her eyes tightly.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, since he didn't know what else to do. He was basing his actions on what Sam usually did when she was comforting either Danny or himself. She sniffled, but when she turned to face him, she was still smiling even though her eyes were filled with tears. "Will you buy me something?"

"…sure," he said softly. "What do you want?"

"Chocolate covered potato chips." She paused. "No one's ever asked me that before. What I want, I mean."

Tucker didn't have a reply for that that wouldn't make things worse, so he just walked to the counter and rang the little bell there. A sleepy looking forty something woman appeared to take his order, apparently used to the concept of students skipping school. Business was business. She didn't care. He glanced back at Paulina. The Latina was looking out the window at the table she and Dash used to share. He wondered when Dash had become such a jerk. He hadn't gone to the same elementary school as the two of them, but the way Paulina described him back then was wildly different than the Dash he was used to now. Dash Baxter, fifth grader, had bought candy for a girl he liked. Dash Baxter, high school football star didn't care his girlfriend's mother had died. How did anyone make that kind of switch? And why was she still with him after all that?

The answer was obvious. If she broke up with him the popular kids and gossipy girls in the school would turn it into a shitstorm. Dash's football buddies would turn on her out of solidarity, and the other girls would turn it against her. Anything to climb the popularity ladder. They'd throw their own friend under the bus for a shot at going to that dumb school dance with the football star. She'd be the one hit with the fallout even though he was the one who deserved it. But she'd mentioned he left bruises on her. And that made Tucker angry in ways he'd never felt before in his life. He'd made some dumb comments in his lifetime, said things he wasn't proud of, but he'd been taught all his life to never, ever hurt a girl. The fact Paulina was a thin cheerleader and he was a bulky, tall football player only made it all that much worse. His mind went down to darker places as he watched her place her hand on the window, leaving a foggy outline on the glass. She was no fighter. If Dash got violent, she didn't have a chance.

"Here," he said, interrupting her window gazing with a bag of chips. He needed to quit thinking about this before he made himself sick. "You know, I thought I was the only one who liked these."

"I like these. And pumpkin ice cream," she admitted, to which he grinned.

"Ever tried getting a cream soda and putting pumpkin ice cream in there? It's awesome. You should try one sometime." He smiled as she popped a chip into her mouth, causing her stomach to grumble. "Junk food helps everything."

Paulina was quiet for a moment as they stood there, looking out at the snowfall together. He wondered how long she'd gone without eating. At least he could get her to get something down. He still wasn't sure how to do this whole 'comforting' thing, but skipping meals wouldn't help her. Was she that afraid to face the other popular kids at lunch? Didn't anyone in their group have some sympathy? He thought over the litany of them and it answered his own question. Kwan would be a good guy about everything, because he was the nicest of the group, and everyone else would take aim and fire.

Why did anyone _want_ to be popular, anyway? What was the benefit? Sure, people knew who Paulina was, but they didn't _know_ her, and everything was so tense all the time. Tucker wasn't sure he could take it. He didn't want to be a loser, and he didn't want to be popular. He was content just being himself. There were no lies to tell or acts to put on that way. Paulina was buried in both. This was not only the longest conversation he'd ever had with her, it was the most honest, and to get her to be honest it took a tragedy. For the first time in his life he found himself worried for her. It was an unfamiliar feeling.

"Thank you for this," she said softly. When she turned her head to look at him, her eyes caught the light. They weren't filled with tears anymore. "I mean, like, everything. All of it. You were nice to me. I don't get that a lot. It's probably why I don't give it out a lot, either. I mean, when I moved here from Mexico in third grade, everyone was always taking shots at me. I had to learn how to fire back. And now it's like I can't turn it off. I'm always shooting everyone down."

"You haven't shot me down," he pointed out charitably. "You haven't said a single mean thing all day. I kind of miss it."

She giggled. "That's crazy."

"Yeah," he agreed, taking a chip for himself. "But you look better when you're smiling, even if you're sniping at me."

"I didn't know nerds were so sweet."

"I didn't know the most popular girl in school liked junk food and moved here from Mexico."

"It's better if people don't know a lot about me. Nobody can use anything against me that way." She nearly jumped when Tucker wrapped an arm around her shoulders. His green eyes were dead serious.

"I would never use any of this against you. I promise," he said seriously. And looking into his eyes, she actually believed him. Tucker Foley was many things – geek, computer lover, aspiring technology inventor – but he was never dishonest, at least not that she'd seen or heard of.

"Thank you," Paulina smiled, and it was so good to see her happy Tucker had to smile too. "You're a nice guy, even if you asked out every girl in the school."

He looked at the floor, feeling awkward all of a sudden. "I'm just playing the odds. I mean, there has to be someone out there that doesn't think I'm a loser, right?"

"I don't think you're a loser." She looked like she was about to say something else, but her cellphone went off, and when she caught sight of the number she cringed. "It's my Papa. The school must've told him I skipped. I have to go home now or I'll be grounded. He's probably worried sick."

"Are you going to be okay to walk through the snow?" Tucker asked, noting the flurry outside.

Paulina sighed. "I'll just have my Dad come pick me up. He's probably out driving around looking for me anyway. He's always been overprotective, but after what happened, well - he means well. I guess I get it. Will you stay with me until he comes? I - I don't want to be alone right now."

The request and the admission surprised him, but he nodded nonetheless. "Of course."

After a brief chat with her father, entirely in Spanish, she put her phone in her pocket and held out the bag of chocolate covered chips to him, but the black boy shook his head. She needed comfort food more than he did right now. So they stood together in the cool gray light of the November afternoon, neither one saying a word. But even though he couldn't come up with a thing to say, she seemed less depressed, at least for the moment. And when her father's car pulled up, Paulina smiled at him like he was an old friend, still clutching the bag in one hand.

She kissed him on the cheek before she departed, and Tucker could still feel the sensation long after she was out of sight.


	3. School

**AN:** Holy crap that's a lot of reviews! Wow, thanks guys. This section is amazingly encouraging and supportive and I can't remember why I was ever scared to post here. I want to apologize for demonizing Dash here, and I'll probably end up writing a fanfic with him where he's not such a horrible person to make up for this, but this was just how the story flowed out. I tried not to go into too much clothing description, but I may have OD'd on dialogue. I don't know if I got Sam and Danny's voices quite right. I tried. Any suggestions on how to improve would be appreciated greatly, as always. Thank you all for reading this!

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Friday morning arrived all too early.

Paulina sat down in front of her mirror and started applying make up like it was her armor. Enough concealer made the rings under her eyes disappear, and some blush would draw the eyes away from any darkness it didn't cover. She threw on sparkling white eye shadow, quickly applied mascara, grabbed a small thing of lip gloss and went to her wardrobe. Even as sweet as Tucker had been, black had not been a good idea yesterday. She had to make sure she looked more like herself. She had to look happy. If she looked confident then no one could touch her. No one could hurt her if she looked good enough. One cream colored sweater and light gray jeans later, she was slipping on some plaid gray sneakers and searching for her silver PVC jacket. It was during this process of digging through her room she found something that made her smile.

The bag of chocolate covered chips was still there on her bedside table. Paulina popped one into her mouth, pausing for a moment. She giggled without knowing why, remembering him looking down at the floor, all soft spoken and thoughtful and down to earth. It had been so easy to just relax around him. She could just say whatever she wanted and he would actually listen, actually _care_. Paulina had never really talked to him before. How long had he been there without her ever noticing? She grabbed her jacket, smiling still as she walked down the stairs to meet the concerned gaze of her father.

"Are you sure you're ready to go to school so soon?" he asked gently, but she beamed at him.

"It's okay, Papa. I'll be fine," she said, and she was.

Right up until the school came into view. A sinking feeling twisted through her gut as she stared at the overwhelming crowd of people. People who were watching her, looking at her, judging. She ran a tongue over her teeth and tasted the remnants of chocolate and salt. Taking a deep breath, she held her head high and put a fairly real air of disdain on her face. Her expression said 'don't bother me with your unpopular bullshit', even though she was privately thinking 'if I can get through school one period at a time, maybe I can do this'. She spotted a familiar red beret in the crowd, though, and her expression softened instantly, the tension leaving her shoulders.

"Hey Tucker," Paulina said perkily, ignoring the death glare she was getting from Sam. "Thank you for helping me out yesterday."

"Anytime. Are you feeling better today?" he asked earnestly. She nodded, smiling a small, genuine smile very unlike her normal smirk. "Good. I'm glad."

"Paulina! Get over here!" Dash yelled from down the hall.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you later, Tuck."

As she walked away, she caught the distinctly confused looks on Danny and Sam's faces as Sam asked, "what the heck was that about?" But Tucker only smiled, catching Paulina's gaze for a moment. He wasn't going to talk about her breakdown. He wasn't gossipy like that. Her biggest priority now was keeping a smile on her face as she approached Dash. He looked utterly pissed, though she couldn't fathom why. The official story was she'd just gotten sick yesterday. If he wanted to get angry over that she'd light him up in a hurry. Nobody got to tell her when to be sick and when not to be, not even him. Even if he scared her a little sometimes, if he thought she was going to roll over and let herself be shouted at in front of the whole hall, he had another thing coming.

"Where were you yesterday?" he demanded, baby blue eyes cold.

Paulina held her head up. "Sick. You'd have known that if you checked the texts I sent you saying I was sorry. I tried to call you and you didn't pick up." In the corner of her eye, she saw the lingering students, the crowd of the A-listers waiting to pounce, but she had this one planned. "I even emailed you last night when I felt better and you never got back to me."

"I was busy waiting for you!" he snapped. At her confused head-tilt, he went on, "Paulina, it was our anniversary. How could you forget that? I had a whole thing planned."

Girls nearby began whispering. Paulina, however, looked at him and crossed her arms. "You didn't."

"Excuse me?"

"You didn't have anything planned. You never even told me when or where to meet you. So what was the plan? What were we going to do? Where were we going? Did you get me anything? Tell me all about your new romantic side after you missed our anniversary for three years in a row," she said smoothly, the memory of both bruises left on her by Dash time and time again and, strangely, Tucker's gentle embrace vivid in her mind. "Tell me all about what I missed so I can really make it up to you."

Now all the girls' eyes were on him. Some of his fellow football players snickered as Dash stammered out, "I thought we'd go, I don't know, see that chick flick you wanted to see?"

"Do you even know what the movie's _called_?" she asked. He stared at her blankly.

Paulina sighed. There was a time in fifth grade he'd known which Power Ranger she liked best and what her favorite color was and that she was afraid of the dark. That Dash seemed to be dead and gone. The bell rang, and she walked past him towards her locker. As everyone scurried off to class, though, he slammed a hand down on the metal of the locker next to hers, stepping closer. His eyes were angry. Somehow she was too tired to care about what was inevitably about to come next. She just stood there and tried to remember the shy blonde haired boy who'd run ten blocks to give her gummy worms. That was the Dash she'd fallen in love with. Sometimes he was still here, in flashes.

Other times he waited until the hall was clear to kick her so hard in the shin she buckled and fell to the floor.

"I don't appreciate you making a fool out of me in front of everybody I know!" he snapped. Paulina grabbed her books and shoved them into her bag, focusing on how angry she was so she wouldn't cry. She never cried. She was above that. She was the icy bitch queen of the school, she reminded herself as she started to stand up. He shoved her off balance by the shoulder and she ended up on the floor again. "Look at me when I'm talking to you."

"She would," Tucker's voice rang out, "If you were talking to her and not growling."

She turned to see Tucker, Danny and Sam still standing there, looking all kinds of pissed off. In fact, she could've sworn Danny's eyes were _glowing_. Tucker's cellphone was out, and he was taking video of the whole thing. Dash turned a shade of white she'd never seen him approach before. And all she could think was, _Tucker really likes me. He actually _likes_ me._ It was a stupid thought, but between Danny's glowing eyes and Tucker's confidence with the cellphone it was all she could do to think at all. The hall seemed vast and quiet and dangerous, suddenly. She wanted nothing more than to put as much distance between herself and Dash as possible, preferably with Tucker at her side.

"Imagine what a YouTube leak of this would do to your career," Tucker said icily. "And then step away from Paulina."

"Also, my family could afford any lawsuit you could dream up, so don't try that threat," Sam added, tone laced with pure venom. "I hate men like you. I don't care if it's Paulina – you ever hit a girl again, I will be _on_ you."

"You never could pick on anybody your own size, could you?" Danny snapped, and yes, his eyes were definitely glowing a familiar shade of _green_, bright and threatening and otherworldly. Paulina stared, transfixed.

Dash, outnumbered four to one, turned on his heel and stormed off without a word, shooting Paulina a look that said clearly it wasn't over.

And then an amazing thing happened. Three people were at her side that were genuinely, really concerned. Danny scooped her books and papers back into her bag, Tucker helped her to her feet, and Sam asked if she was okay. It was so surreal. They all had such worried, honest eyes, and Tucker's hands were so warm and solid she didn't let go. Her own were shaking slightly. Without knowing it, she leaned her head onto his shoulder for a moment. She tried to shut her eyes and summon up her inner I-don't-deal-with-losers self. It wouldn't come. She tried to recall her nothing-effects-me inner tough girl. Nothing. The ice bitch queen of the school was not forthcoming right now, grew farther away as the trio's concerned voices grew softer and gentler. She looked up into Tucker's eyes for a moment before speaking.

"I'll be okay now. It doesn't hurt," she lied, trying to retain some pride, some authority.

"You're bleeding," Sam pointed out. "We should go to the school nurse, tell her what happened-"

"She never believes me," Paulina muttered, causing three sets of eyebrows to rise. "Er, what I mean is, Dash is kind of the Principal's pet. So even if I go they'll just give me a story, like I fell or something. They don't want any bad publicity for the school. Remember when we were all in middle school, and they fired that teacher for trying to uncover all the cheating going on with the jocks?"

"I can't believe this," the Goth girl muttered, facepalming. "Fine. We'll go to the girl's bathroom and patch you up. We can tell Mr. DeLancie you fell." She sounded pissed off at the very idea of lying about this. "But Tucker's never deleting that video."

"Already backing it up to my computer," he confirmed, looking worriedly at Paulina. He gave her a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring. It was dorky more than anything, but she smiled back anyway.

"What're you going to do about tonight's football game? He'll see you there with the other cheerleaders and I don't think he's going to be happy." Danny sounded concerned. Going off of her brief, brief experience with him, he was a fairly nice guy. He also had a point.

"Why do your eyes keep doing that?" Paulina asked on an impulse, and all three of them froze.

"Do what?" Danny squeaked, taking a step back. It was almost comical how hard he was trying to sound nonchalant. "My eyes are fine."

"You should come over to my place tonight," Tucker said bluntly. Paulina's focus derailed entirely as she stared at him, confused. "If you don't go to the football game he won't get a chance to be near you. He'll never find you there, either. And then when your dad picks you up I can show him the video footage and we'll figure out how to keep him off you for good."

Paulina panicked. "The other girls will eat me alive if this gets out. Think about what they did to Zita last week when they found out her boyfriend did pot. I don't want everyone coming after me, too. I just want things to be normal!"

Tucker wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She'd only known him a day and already the touch felt familiar. "Your boyfriend beating you up isn't _normal_ Paulina. And it isn't right. This isn't how life is supposed to work. Just come over to my house tonight, okay? We'll work it out."

She bit her lip, but after a moment, she nodded, praying it was a decision she wouldn't regret.


	4. Signs

**AN:** And the fluff thickens, followed by an obvious set up for the next chapter. I was going to make this one long chapter before realizing I hadn't finished writing it and it was already fairly long. So instead I decided to post this as its' own chapter. Thank you to everyone for the wellspring of reviews. The fact so many people are willing to give this pairing a chance and I've managed to keep from making characters OOC is amazing to me. The support and the constructive advice I've gotten in this section has been amazing, and I want to thank everyone following this story, too. All of you make my day a little brighter. Updates may slow a bit as I try to balance all my stories, but I promise I'm doing the best I can. As always, any kind of comment on this is appreciated.

* * *

"I never knew you were such a huggy person," Paulina commented after Tucker gave her a brief hug as she entered his house. She looked around appraisingly, smiling at the muted greens and grays. It wasn't gaudy like her house was, and even though she loved her home, there was something to be said for the peaceful colors here.

"I'm not a huggy guy. But whenever Danny and I have been really down, or at our worse, Sam always hugged us. I figured that meant it might help." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, unconsciously imitating Danny's nervous habit. "If it's bugging you, I can stop."

"No, it's fine," she assured him with a small grin.

He was almost acting like he had a crush on her, but that was a silly thought. Men who crushed on Paulina always came right out and said it. They gave her gaudy things and tended to be jocks looking for a cheerleader. They'd never have invited her over to escape Dash, let alone stopped what Dash did in the hall. One or two of his friends had seen what had happened before, only to turn away. Spreading it around would only have Dash on them, so it remained a secret. They were more concerned with themselves than other people. Just like Paulina was. It was all about survival at this point.

Sometimes she hated being in the popular clique. Sure, she had Star, who was like a sister to her, but lately Star and Kwan had been so wrapped up in each other they barely had time for Paulina. In a way she was happy when she saw the light in Star's eyes when she talked about Kwan, about how optimistic he was and how uplifting it was to go do fun things with him. Star had moved to Amity Park in seventh grade, a dead-quiet beauty teased and bullied into silence before Paulina had talked to her and found out she was actually smart, competitive, all the things that made for a popular girl. She was proud her friend had grown into herself and had a man that was there for her all the time.

She just wished she wasn't jealous. It wasn't angry jealousy. Angry jealousy was vicious, it was self-righteous, it was empowering. This was more of a sad longing. Paulina wanted someone to be like that for her. Someone who was genuinely happy to see her, to be with her. Someone who cared about Paulina, not about the head cheerleader. All the signs were pointing towards that person being Tucker. And she was a little scared of how easy it was to let down her walls with him. She'd never met someone who she could talk to so easily before. He was so different from how she'd pictured him. He wasn't some skirt chasing techno-geek.

He'd said he was just playing odds. Taking shots in the dark there was someone out there who thought he wasn't a loser. And sure, she couldn't keep up with him when he was talking about technology. But she knew what it was like to reach out for a real connection and not find it. In that way, they were all too painfully similar.

Tucker's mother appeared, in an apron, from the door of the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready. I hope you like cranberry chicken."

"I've never had it, actually," she admitted. "I didn't know that was even a thing."

"Old family recipe," the black woman explained. She smiled warmly at her. "I figured it might be nice to make some comfort food. It's a sleepy sort of day."

"It smells really good," Paulina said brightly. "No wonder Tucker loves meat so much, if you always cook like this."

"You're too kind, Paulina. Anyway, dinner will be ready in ten. You two should wash your hands- is that blood on your jeans?" Her eyes narrowed in worry, but the Hispanic girl reached for Tucker's hand with a bright grin.

"Yeah. But I had a friend there to take care of me."

Mrs. Foley watched Tucker's face flush and smiled at the two of them. They were an unusual pair, to be sure, but she'd never seen her son look at someone and smile that gentle, oblivious smile before. It was like they were the only people in the room. _'Friend' over for dinner. Uh-huh. Sure, son, whatever you say._ She shook her head and went back into the kitchen. Normally her husband cooked, as something of a relaxing hobby, but tonight he was wiped from working overtime at Vinyaya Software. He'd solved a major glitch in one of their programs and it would be out there on time for Christmas. It had taken a lot of coffee and effort. Her husband, though, was a man of his word, and when he told the terrified intern who'd proposed the program he'd be there every step of the way, he meant it. He didn't abandon his friends.

And she was getting the same vibe off of her son. Paulina looked a little tired, more than a bit run down, and Tucker was hovering in the background, ready to do whatever he could. She was proud her son had that attitude towards his friends, but more importantly, if the two were falling in love, then she was proud this was how he treated his special lady. She'd been worried he was just after looks for a long time, until he came home with a 'friend' who he seemed to be more concerned about than checking out. She'd always known her son would find that person that snapped him out of his hitting on everything and everyone.

After all, that's how his father had been, too.

* * *

Tucker and Paulina were side tracked by the baby pictures on the hallway wall back from the bathroom.

There was a timeline, from baby Tucker to just last year, with pictures of his aunts and uncles and cousins. His parents wedding picture hung at the start of the line, two younger joyous people standing in a simple church, their eyes so full of life and love it was clear they didn't care where it was, so long as they were together. Tucker's newborn picture was a frightening picture of a baby under an incubator with what seemed to Paulina's eyes to be endless tubes and IVs. He looked so tiny and delicate.

"I was born three months early," he supplied to her unspoken question. "My parents nearly went broke trying to keep me alive. The doctors told them there was a strong chance my brain would never develop properly – that I'd be retarded. They suggested the effort to keep me going wasn't worth it. My mother slapped the doctor so hard he never suggested anything along those lines again. She was worried, though. That I wouldn't grow up to be as tall or strong as the other guys."

"You _are_ strong, though. You and Danny and Sam – you were like superheroes today. And you led the charge." Paulina chuckled. "Retarded, huh? I think you disproved that by, like, fifth grade. Didn't you go to the state championship in the Science Fair that year?"

"You remember that?"

"You made the news. It was kind of hard to forget. I never knew, though, you were born so early. I mean, I thought babies couldn't even live if it was that far back…"

He pointed to the row of pictures. Tucker was always small for his age, and his hair had never grown past a small fluffy coating of coarse hair. His pictures weren't of riding his bike or playing catch, they were of making crystals and his first chemistry set. His pictures at what Paulina guessed were family reunions or holidays showed him to be the shortest of all of them, but his eyes were always happy. She wondered idly how long it had been since she'd given her aunt a call. Surely Elodia was a wreck over her sister dying. Paulina resolved to make the call, even if she didn't know what to say, and even though Aunt Elodia was in Mexico. It didn't matter. Something had to be said. She wanted this, this closeness and this… this wall. She wanted a wall of her own. She wanted a this for her own life.

She'd thought being popular would give her that. She'd thought it would give her a circle of friends who could be the like the siblings she didn't have. Instead she was more alone than she had ever been before. All the funny remarks and sharp comebacks hadn't made her popular, just well known, not really liked. She had no one to blame but herself for being in this position.

"Tucker?" she said softly. He turned to look at her, but her eyes were locked on the wedding picture of his parents, where everyone seemed so happy despite such a plain little event. She reached out and touched the frame. "Have you ever wondered what it'd be like?"

"To get married?"

"To be in love."

There was a silence. He nodded, after a moment. "I don't think it's going to happen, though. No one really gets me. I don't just mean the technology – when I talk about humanitarian technology and changing things for the better and how science could save lives, people think I'm trying to gain brownie points or sound nice. No one takes me seriously. Maybe at college I'll meet someone who believes me when I say I just want to help people-"

"I believe you," she interrupted softly, placing a manicured hand on his shoulder. "Tucker, you had your friends help gang up on Dash, and I've been mean to you and them for years. I was nice to you _once_. You had every right to walk away, and you didn't."

"I couldn't," he admitted quietly. "I didn't have a choice. I just – I thought about it, and the idea made me sick."

"See? That's proof you're not just trying to get brownie points or whatever. If people knew you, they'd know you're not one of those geeks obsessed with getting rich. It's like, really obvious, really."

He turned to her, looking touched and surprised. "Paulina…"

"Kids! Dinner's ready!" Tucker's mother called, and the black boy lost the nerve for whatever else he was going to say. But Paulina grabbed him by the hand as they walked towards the kitchen, and the smile on both their faces remained for the entirety of dinner.

* * *

Paulina thought it was the best dinner she'd had in a while.

Not just the delicious food, even if it was kind of weird. No, what was good was talking. Tucker's father was a sea of puns, both bad and good, and his wife was good at pretending to be irritated with him, except for the smile on her face. Anyone could see they were in love. And then they started in on stories about different embarrassing things Tucker had done, which had prompted him to retaliate that his father was afraid of cats, and Mrs. Foley had shared a ton of stories with Paulina that had her laughing and choking on her food.

It felt like home. She and Tucker had gone up to his room so he could talk to her. He didn't have to say what it was about. Dash was in the back of her mind all evening, ruining a perfectly wonderful time with the threat of the future looming up ahead of her. At the same time, being with people helped push down the pain of her mother dying. It hurt, it was like a knife inside her chest, but it was easier to breathe when she was with Tucker. If that meant something significant she wasn't sure. All she knew was that being around his family lifted the weight, if only for a moment. She still wanted to break down and cry, she just now had the reassurance there was someone other than her dad who she could break down in front of. Tucker had gone from a face in the hall to someone she could count on overnight.

Unfortunately, that meant the inevitable Dash conversation.

"I think we should call the cops," Tucker stated bluntly. "Sam and I talked about it in English, and the school is too wrapped up in saving themselves to try and intervene. So we need to go to the next level up if we want this to be over quickly and correctly."

"…no."

"He may have the sports star thing going on, but they'd still at least be able to charge him for the bruises on you."

"I said no!" Paulina burst out. Tucker flinched at the intensity in her voice. "The school would eat me alive. Everyone would know. They'd know I'm just this whining little girl who can't take care of herself. Dash isn't always like this. He apologized. He sent me like, a dozen texts. He's not proud of himself."

"Paulina, he _hurt_ you. And it's not the first time. What do you think is going to happen? Do you think he's just going to stop one day?" Tucker couldn't believe what he was hearing. Paulina's gaze was on the floor. "How long has this been going on?"

"I promised him I would never abandon him. His mom walked out on him when he was really young-"

"That's not an excuse!" Tucker exclaimed, but Paulina's expression was unreadable.

Everything old and comfortable had fallen away except Dash. He was like a piece of the past she could hold onto. Because of him she had friends, because she was sharp tongued she had the cheerleaders' respect, because he had pushed her into doing it. He entire high school identity had been built on him and his directions. At the time it had seemed like he was guiding her through a life she didn't know how to navigate. Tucker saw it as controlling her. Paulina wasn't sure what any of it was anymore. But there had been a time when Dash had said with utter seriousness he loved her more than anything in the world.

Her cellphone buzzed. It was a simple text with Dash. _Meet me at the club tonight. 11 sharp. No excuses._ Paulina felt a spike of relief go through her. Dash always partied after he had won, and alcohol put him in a good mood. It was like happiness serum for him. And he wanted her there like always, like nothing was wrong. He'd already apologized with texts all day. Maybe this was just a bad day. All that stress from school and the team must've had him high strung. If she went home now she could grab her fake ID and slip into a nicer outfit, and they could have a night out with their friends and make this all go away.

Tucker peered over her phone. "What club?"

"Just a little place on Umber Street that my friends like to go to now and again."

His expression was wary. "With the way Dash was today, I really don't think you should go meet Dash at some dive like that. It's not safe."

"Tucker, I can handle myself. I'm not weak." It hurt her to think he thought of her that way. That was what she got for crying in front of him, she supposed. Every guy wanted a swooning little cheerleader. It shouldn't hurt if he didn't think anything different. She'd known him for like, two days. Why was his opinion so important to her? "I at least should hear out what he wants to say in person."

"But-"

"We'll talk about this later, okay? I need to get home before my Papa gets worried again. Your father can give me a lift home, right?" She left as soon as he nodded, clutching the cell phone with an expression of determination on her face. She was going to make this better. Things were going to be okay. Even though her mother was gone, she could control this. She had everything under control. She could handle this on her own. She wasn't some weak little girl and she didn't need rescuing.

Fortunately for her, Tucker disagreed, and sent a text to Danny explaining the situation before she'd even left the building.


	5. Stop

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay! Real life is getting crazy right now with school work, but I'll try to do my best to keep updates more stable in the future, for all my stories. Sorry, guys.

* * *

Paulina rarely went out to the one club in Amity Park shady enough to let teens slip in.

It wasn't her scene. It was too loud, too headache inducing, too crowded. There were so many eyes on her at school that the concept of going somewhere and putting even more eyes on her was stomach churning. Under the flashing lights she saw how much prettier all the other girls were, how no amount of make up or careful hair styling could make her truly stand out. The fact that Dash would usually hit on other girls while there, however playfully, just drove home that she wasn't good enough. A lot of things he did drove that home lately. She paused as she was changing clothes to go meet him, glancing at where the bag of still unfinished chocolate covered potato chips lay. Tucker never made her feel like she wasn't good enough.

But he was so much smarter than she was. He was building his own custom computer, he had modified his PDA until it was a handheld marvel, he had that effortless intelligence born of enthusiasm for what he did… one day he was going to be head of his own company in some computer or tech related field. Tucker Foley was destined for bigger things. She was just a cheerleader, something that used to make her happy until it turned out that cheerleaders were just as ready to eat their own as other popular girls were. He was incredibly smart and sweet. Paulina lied like she breathed. She was fake and she wasn't smart, and she knew it. She hated it. Time hadn't brought acceptance that this was who she was. It had just made her hate her own life more and more.

She didn't want to be Paulina Sanchez. She wanted to be herself. She just didn't know who that was anymore. All she knew was what she was: cheerleader, Dash's girlfriend, popular girl with a reputation to keep up, and pretty girl. The roles felt more and more plastic and less real as time went on. There was a time she'd been so happy to be any of those things, to not be a skinny stick of a girl with no curves with an accent picked on by her classmates. Now she was buried under the weight of keeping so many balls in the air at once and she wasn't sure she could keep this going for the rest of high school.

…if Paulina didn't focus on all this she'd have to face her mother being dead.

So it was better to be buried in that than to have to address the gaping hole in her heart where her mother had been. She finished changing into a dark teal dress with a flared hemline around her knees and a sweetheart neckline. Paulina had worn it when Dash had asked her out to Homecoming way back in seventh grade, their first actual dance together. She'd grown taller and filled it out better now, and her hair was longer, but other than that she barely appeared to have changed. How could so much have become different between them since they first awkwardly looked at anywhere but each other while they slow danced? Would he even remember where the dress was from?

He'd apologized, though. He was trying to do better. And if she just left him when he was trying to change, she couldn't live with herself. She'd spent a large chunk of her life alone. She didn't want to go back to that. Without the approval of a football star she was likely to come under fire by other girls, and he would be laughed at by his friends. She knew what that felt like. Did she really want to do that to him? To the sweet boy who'd been her friend since fifth grade?

She couldn't do it. She slipped into a pair of black, high heeled boots and grabbed her silver jacket, ready to face tonight, hoping for the best while, unknown to her, Tucker had sent her back up in case of the worse.

* * *

Danny could not believe he was doing this.

He had never considered Paulina the type to end up in this kind of relationship. Dash made sense as an abusive asshole; somehow, he was unsurprised. What he hadn't seen coming was the genuine fear, the excuses, the way Paulina would go back to him like it was all going to be better now. For all her shallowness, she had never seemed desperate. Why would any woman stay with someone like Dash? Why wasn't she just calling him, telling him they were through and going for some other A-list student? The rest of the football team were dense and sometimes jerks, but they had to be better than this. She could do better. And he didn't particularly like her; it wasn't a compliment. It was a fact.

As much as he still had mixed feelings towards her – not hate, just wariness, some bitterness, lately more confusion than anything – he had never wanted to abuse his ghost powers more than when Dash hurt her. It was just who Danny was. So really, he wasn't shocked at himself he ended up spying on her. Of course he would intervene. He couldn't let any girl be abused by any guy, even it was Paulina in question and she was getting harder and harder to figure out. Weirder still was how she apparently had a soft spot for Tucker, of all people. The way she looked at him was… unguarded. Gentle. Her smile was even different. He didn't know she could look so human. It was like she was in love.

If she broke Tucker's heart, he had no idea what he'd do. If she dated him, he had less than no clue what he'd do. This had never crossed his mind as even a joking possibility before. Danny wasn't sure how the two of them had ended up so close literally overnight. Neither of them made any sense. In that way, they deserved each other, he guessed. It still felt weird and a bit like being a stalker, following her as she made her way to the club.

He had to go invisible and intangible to get inside and not crash into people. The music's volume was insane. Danny recognized some people from school, but Dash looked like he'd had more than a few shots. Something told him then this would not be a good night for anyone involved. But the first few minutes seemed fine enough. Dash and Paulina hugged, they drank, and they nodded their heads and clapped their hands in time to more than one song Danny couldn't stand. Kwan and Star popped in, and Star and Paulina ran off to the bathroom, leaving Danny awkwardly watching the men for lack of a non-creepy option. Dash and Kwan were talking, their words overshadowed by the bulk of the music. What Danny did catch was that Dash was an angry drinker and as more of the alcohol entered his system, he was less and less of a good guy to be around. Kwan seemed to sense this, and started dragging them towards the exit.

It didn't work, and the second Paulina came out of the bathroom, make up readjusted and eyes sparkling, Dash manifested beside her, blue eyes glinting dangerously. Kwan and Star were hot on their tail as Dash opened some small side door that led outside, shouting for them to stay out of it. Kwan winced and did as he was told, always a touch too easily commanded. Star wrenched the door open and shoved herself inbetween Dash and Paulina bodily. One the Latina was free from Dash's grip, Star pushed her behind her and dug her heels into the ground.

"She came to the stupid party, what's your deal?" Star asked, flipping her blonde hair behind her back.

"She got Fenton and his friends to blackmail me-"

"I didn't know they were going to show up!" Paulina protested. The door creaked open and Kwan leaned against the brick wall, looking confused and torn. "I don't even know Fenton and Foley and Manson enough to get them to blackmail me. I'm pretty sure all three of them hate me, Dash."

"Then what was that little display in the hallway about? If someone had seen that I'd be in juvie or something. I thought you cared about me."

"I do-" Paulina started to say, but Star interrupted.

"I set it up," she lied boldly. All heads, even Danny's invisible one, turned to her in shock. "Foley was my boyfriend for a little bit, I had dirt on him. He owed me. Dash, do you remember that time in middle school you stood me up at the winter dance? Now we're all even and if you need to punch a girl, you're aiming for me."

Dash's fist recoiled as if he were going to. Kwan grabbed onto him by the shoulders. "Leave her alone, man! She was just mad. It was just a mistake. We don't need to fight about this."

"Then why," the blonde boy breathed, dangerously close to Kwan's face, "are you taking sides?"

"I'm not." Kwan's normally jovial grin hardened into a cold, angry blank stare. "But my mother always taught me not to hit a girl."

"Then you and Star go home so Paulina and I can discuss this in private."

Star stayed put in front of Paulina, and crossed her arms. "I'm sick of you jocks thinking cheerleaders are just your accessories."

"You're dating Kwan!"

"Because he's a nice guy, an optimist, a spoken word poet, and my best friend," Star explained. "Take away the football jacket and what are _you_?"

"Star, please don't get me in any more fights," Kwan muttered, which she ignored. "Come on, can't we all just let it drop, go home and sort it out later?"

Danny could see on Dash's face there was no chance of that. Still invisible, he crept around the corner and blasted some random garbage with glowing green ectoblasts, feigning a scream of 'ghost'. He took to the air and whipped around the corner to find Dash already bolting like his life depended on it while Star was dragging Paulina towards the parking lot, but something seemed to be wrong with the Latina girl. Her pupils were dilated, her balance unsteady and her focus seemed to be going. Kwan wrapped an arm around her to support her as she stumbled.

"What was in that last martini?" she asked, sounding dazed. Star's eyes grew large in alarm.

"Nothing. You're always like this when you drink," Star groused. "We need to get you home."

"I'll take her," Danny volunteered. "I can fly. Plus I already nailed that ghost tonight." He squinted at the three of them, using his best authoritative glare and voice combo. "Aren't you all a little young to be drinking?"

"I had half an Irish coffee and Kwan had some energy drink mix thing. Paulina doesn't even drink, Inviso-bill," Star explained immediately, covering for her friend. "She doesn't drink unless her boyfriend gets her to or someone's died. She's not a bad girl."

"Somehow, if that coward was her boyfriend, I believe it. Any bad girl would get someone less of a pansy. What's her address?"

Star gave it to him, handing him the swaying and clearly exhausted Paulina. Kwan put his arm around his blonde girlfriend and they watched until the two were out of sight. It was good to know the town's super hero wasn't above helping out normal people. Star took several deep breaths, and kicked the snow in front of her. Kwan watched her bite her lip and furrow her brow, taking several deep breaths. She'd been taking jujitsu lately for self defense, and after three months of work she'd like nothing more than to flip Dash over like a pancake. Paulina had been the reason she was popular, the reason she had friends, and to touch her was unthinkable. Star would throw her popularity away for Paulina in a heartbeat.

And Kwan knew that his own interest in poetry, accidentally instilled by Sam Manson, would get him booted from popular circles despite his parents being rich. That was part of how he ended up with Star. She was not afraid to fight her own bullies anymore; she was determined not to be a satellite anymore. She wanted to be Star. And the Star she wanted to be wasn't totally based in popularity or backstabbing, arrogant as she was, but she _was_ interested in honesty. That was Kwan in a nutshell. He was almost too gentle and naïve to be a real person. They were both wildly out of balance in their own ways, but together, they seemed to fit.

Together they stayed out in the cold until long after Phantom was gone from sight, just watching the moonlight play over the silver clouds.

"Thanks for the ride, Danny," Paulina murmured, eyes fighting to stay open.

He swallowed nervously. "Your friends explained your situation pretty well. And it's not a long flight. No thanks necessary, really."

"It's true, you know. I don't drink. Things have just been hard lately." She snorted, looking at the ground. "Like I have any real problems. You're out there ducking ghost attacks and I'm just whining about nothing."

"Anything that would make an underage girl drink isn't _nothing_," he insisted firmly, trying to make his voice as un-Fenton-like as possible. "What happened?"

"Mama's gone," she said, the words slipping out weak and weary. "Lexandro's gone. Papa spends all his time at work and I just want him home. I only even got into cheerleading so Papa would come watch me, but lately I just… walk through life."

After a minute of silence and her awkwardly trying to fight back tears, he asked softly, "Who's Lexandro?"

"He was my brother." She shut her eyes. "The best brother in the world…"

She tried her best not to cry, and that consumed her. He couldn't get another world out of her. He almost thought she'd passed out as he phased through her window, gently setting her on her bed, where he awkwardly pulled her shoes off and pulled some blankets over her. Danny had turned to leave when she struggled to her feet, managing to get to the TV, retrieve a small bag of chocolate covered potato chips, and plop down on a pink bean bag chair. Danny could see how exhausted she was, but she had no intent of laying down on the bed. Instead she began turning the bag over and over in her hands.

"When Lex wasn't around anymore, I tried to be friends with everyone. So I'd never be alone." She looked at him, make up smeared, hair a mess, tears tumbling down her cheeks. Her voice was drained of all school ground alpha bitch superiority, and instead it sounded like a weight to push the words out at all. "So why am I more alone now than I ever was before?"

"You aren't. You have at least two friends willing to fight for you, and…" he hesitated, trying to think of other people that cared about her. "Tucker doesn't buy candy for people he hates."

She looked at the bag in her hands. "…yeah. Yeah, you're right. Leave the light on? I don't want to be in the dark tonight."

"Can do," he said, flicking on the bedside lamp as a hint she should get to bed soon. As he fazed through the window and flew out into the night, Paulina curled into a ball, slumped against her bean bag chair.

Chocolate covered potato chips had never tasted so sweet.


	6. Start

**Author's Note:** In a way, nothing happens in this chapter in that it's just Paulina. In another way, we have some character development and fleshing out, and I felt like that was important. I hope it doesn't drag for anyone. Any thoughts and comments would be appreciated. I'm a bit nervous about this chapter. But I'd also like to thank all my reviewers and followers so far. Thank you all for giving this strange spur of the moment idea a chance. You make me feel like I might be capable of doing this writing thing.

* * *

_It was one of those dreams she knew was a dream._

_Despite this knowing, she ran up to him anyway, jumping up into his arms. In this dream they were always how they used to be and not how she was now. He was eighteen, black hair in a ponytail, eyes golden-brown, the rarest of eyes, sparkling and hopeful. His smile was dimpled and his face was oval shaped as he leaned down to grab his seven year old half sister. He hoisted her into the air, threw her up and caught her, spun her so she was a blur of a dandelion yellow dress and fluffy black pigtails. He always put her hair up in four, something unlikely hers._

_This was the last day she would see him alive. Lexandro Sanchez and the past, younger Paulina Sanchez laughed at the airport, oblivious to everything. He kissed her on the cheek just to see her pretend to be grossed out and wipe it away, smiling as their mother sighed, shaking her head. Her black hair was cropped at the ears, yet still curled, her almond shaped dull gold eyes locking with his. Her smile was a bit strained. At that age Paulina didn't see it, or didn't understand it if she did. Her brother's smile fell, changed to a sadder one._

"_I have to do this," he said, inhaling like he was preparing for an argument, but his mother cut it off at the pass by pulling him close, Paulina still in his arms._

"_You really are just like me," she muttered to her firstborn. "You're stubborn and crazy."_

"_It's a gift."_

_She pulled away, taking Paulina from him. "Three flights in and you'll regret this. The jetlag will kill you before you get to Luanda."_

"_Some sacrifices are worth it – though if I say it that way, it sounds like I'm meeting a beautiful foreign woman rather than a city." Paulina had giggled at that, picturing her chronically clumsy brother trying to romance a pretty African girl. She didn't understand why her brother going abroad was bad, just that he was going to Africa. And all she knew about Africa was they had tigers and jungles. She was seven and the gravity of it escaped her, but in the eyes of her mother and brother there was something there, a weight, an understanding. "If I meet a beautiful foreign woman, I'll be sure to call you. You can tell her all those embarrassing stories you're fond of just like if you were there in person."_

"_Lex, if you meet a beautiful foreign woman who actually likes you, I will personally sew her wedding dress." She reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, looking exhausted suddenly. "You be careful out there. They're out for blood."_

"_As opposed to here, where everything is sunshine and rainbows?" Lexandro looked up at the airport announcement his flight was coming in. "Well, I'm off to Angola. Paulina, don't burn down the house trying to cook until I get back."_

_She smiled as he messed up her bangs, hefting his bag. He shared a lingering look with their mother before he turned and disappeared into the crowd, one of the many people outward bound. The smell of vanilla and cigarette smoke lingered where he'd held her, and it wasn't long before their mother was clutching her too tight, trying not to cry. Paulina peered at the crowd until she could no longer see the back of his head, then turned to the window to see the planes. This all seemed like such a grand adventure. Her brother was going off to Africa to help people; Africa, that place she only dreamed of and knew nothing about, where anything seemed possible. Africa, a place where they spoke all those different languages and they needed doctors like him, a place so vague Paulina didn't know back then about the problems in their countries. She only knew it was far away._

_It was okay, though. He had promised he was coming back._

* * *

Paulina was grateful there was no school that day.

She had been pushing guilt away by thinking about Dash, Tucker, the school dance, make up, dresses, acting normal, upholding her routine. She'd kept it all out. But she fell asleep she was unguarded, defenseless, and it all washed over her. It was as if she were trying to stand and fight against the current of a river, everything just coming at her relentlessly. She had tried to build up a wall against this, and that dam had broken, the relative badness of the present washed away with the loss she had tried not to feel. Even the bruises Dash gave her didn't hurt like this. There were holes inside her that expanded until they were all she could feel.

Paulina should move from the beanbag chair she'd dozed off in to the bed. She should go get something to eat. She should try to call Star, talk to her, see if they could go shopping, keep her spirits up. It was all just too much, though. The effort it would take to put something in her stomach or get dressed or walk around stores seemed monumental. She couldn't even fathom trying to look at things and talk like a normal person. She felt like her tongue was lead and her entire body was composed of deadweights. She shut her eyes and ignored the morning light drifting in from outside, and remained that way for a long time. She would get hungry without even considering eating. She would feel grief and sadness cut her into ribbons over and over without crying; the pain went so deep that no tears could have washed it away or made her feel better. It felt cold, and it wasn't reason enough to go all the way to the bed four feet away. Everything felt overwhelming.

She missed her family so badly it was like their absence just proved how hollow her life really was. They had died for what they believed in. They had dared to take stands. They had such burning passions for what they wanted, _needed_ to do with their lives that it had driven them to places other people dared not go. They had been vivid, golden and brilliant, moving, acting, speaking, raw energy in human bodies. Both of them had lived with everything they had. They set goals and locked on as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered. Without them the world was gray, colors washed away, sounds muted, things unimportant and trivial. Who cared if she went to the Snow Ball with Dash? Was it really something she'd care about in a year? Or, if she was being honest, a week? Who was going to look back at this and remember Paulina Sanchez as anything other than a one-note, cardboard cutout alpha bitch? She wouldn't.

Maybe it was good they hadn't seen how empty and pathetic she really was. Paulina stared at the texture of her carpet and wondered what it was like to really feel something, to want and need something so badly it was all consuming, to do something that was risky because it just had to be done and nothing else mattered. She'd never felt like that. She'd tasted the idea of it when she had a crush on Danny Phantom, but that wasn't real. He was dead, therefore he would always be around. It was safe to have a crush on a ghost. It wasn't safe to really care about someone or something mortal and finite and tangible. She dated Dash because he was part of the cheerleader act and she was afraid to lose him, not because she cared about him. She had never gone after something she cared about where there were actual stakes. High school dating and mind games didn't hurt if they failed. There was nothing to lose.

Having nothing to lose meant she had nothing to give. There was nothing there except the memory of when she really felt alive and had a family that had filled her with memories of beautiful days and happier times that seemed distant now. She had dreams, once. They had not included being that girl everyone in school hated and paid attention to. That was so worthless. _She_ was worthless. Time ticked by as she replayed all those wonderful moments with her brother, her mother, the days before her parents divorced, those family breakfasts and playing pretend outside and climbing on the roof to watch a meteor shower. Back then she had been so alive.

It was dark again when her father got back from work. She pulled herself to her feet with tremendous effort and made her way over to the bed, where she curled up as if to shield herself from life, remaining still with her eyes shut when he opened the door.

Only when he shut the door did she begin to cry.

* * *

Sunday found Paulina texting with Tucker back and forth.

This was optimal, as it required no moving from the bed for her and allowed her to fill her mind briefly with thoughts that weren't related to her family. They discussed their friends and school and that ridiculous book Mr. Lancer had assigned them and one topic bled into the next. The steady stream of babble pulled her out of herself enough she could keep her head above water. They compared musical tastes and discovered a mutual love of dubstep, which Sam apparently hated with a passion, and a mutual hatred of Humpty Dumpty, which Danny apparently loved. Tucker's favorite movie was _Equilibrium_ and Paulina's was _500 Days Of Summer_. They both harbored a secret love of the musical _The Devil's Carnival_; Paulina for the way it incorporated Spanish art and themes, Tucker for the music. Neither of them understood the Justin Bieber thing despite Paulina genuinely liking virtually all pop music she'd ever heard.

Eventually he had to go hang out with Danny, and she pulled herself out of bed to get a shower and something to eat, which seemed to take all of her energy. Thinking of Tucker's wall of family photos, she went to the attic, where some digging in boxes eventually yielded an old, battered scrapbook that seemed positively barren by comparison. She stared at a picture of her crop-haired mother hugging her father, post divorce, still friends. Forcibly friends might have been a better term; she just would not let her ex-husband drift into loneliness. She knew he could get swallowed whole by work and live on autopilot. That was why she had to end it. Her willpower was just too strong to let anything go, and she had kept close to them even after letting Paulina move to America with her father. It was hard for her, but she wanted her daughter to have a better education.

There were pictures of Lexandro, graduating from college in three years flat, winning an award for investigative journalism, always making waves. His clumsy, gentle side was one half of an outspoken stubborn man who would not back down and who would laugh through the hard times. He had gone over to Angola to make the world care about the internal unrest in the country over not just political power but diamonds. He'd hated diamonds, something that had stuck with Paulina for life. She couldn't look at them the same way knowing slave labor went into producing them. He had been killed to keep things silent, but the damage was done before the bullet went into his head; he had already attracted the attention of other countries onto the issue and spoiled the reputation of several companies. He hadn't stopped things, but he'd dealt a destabilizing blow to the industry.

And she was a cheerleader who let some blonde jerk smack her around.

There had to be more to life than that. There had to be more to her as a human being than sitting around waiting for something to happen. And she deserved more than that jerk. She did. Why was she like this, why was this who she was now? Paulina couldn't look at the scrapbook anymore; she closed it and looked away, shutting her eyes. She needed to make a change in her life. No, she needed to make a bunch of them. It no longer felt like it was _her_ life she was living; no, not living, stuck in, forced into, trudging through like thick snow, trying to withstand day by day as everything went right by her. Other people in high school did something. They did a lot of stupid things, but at least they meant them. They felt the sting of rejection and the elation of dates and real friends and thought about things besides the A-list. They thought they could be pop stars and sports stars and maybe they were all wrong, _but they thought __**something.**_ She threw the book off to the side, grabbed her phone, and Dash. Getting nothing but his voicemail, she informed him they were through and she didn't know what she ever saw in him. She continued, with a visceral triumphant female anger she didn't know she still had, that if he so much as looked at her in the wrong way she would have the police on him before the day was done.

It wasn't an Earth shattering change. It was not running into an African country to fight corruption or taking a lone stand against crime in Mexico. What it was was her own decision, hers, not the cheerleader's, not the popular girl's, _hers_, Paulina Marisol Sanchez's.

It was a start.


	7. Stronger

**Author's Note:** Not the ultra long chapter you were all hoping for, I'm sure, but plot. So much plot. I hope I'm not inserting Lexandro's character into the plot too much. My logic is very simple: she has still not yet processed her mother's death. It's started to hit her, but it hasn't really truly impacted her fully yet. Her brother, however, died significantly earlier in her life, and therefore he pops up in her dream here on the basis of she's accepted his death by now. And I know his dialogue is entirely soapbox-y, but he was a journalist. It comes with the territory.

And I apologize for clothing descriptions, the bane of many readers. It serves a purpose in this case to show she's doing what she wants. Hopefully I haven't pushed her too far into independence, but next chapter she's getting the fallout for all her actions here, so it's not like she's getting off scott free. Next chapter is where it gets worse. Much worse.

* * *

Paulina hadn't had her hair up in ponytails in years.

After Lexandro died, it had seemed wrong somehow. And four ponytails had never been _in_ as a fashion statement in any country; that was the domain of indie and emo girls who experimented with their hair and didn't care if it worked or not so long as they liked it. But Monday morning found Paulina putting her hair up. When she couldn't manage ponytails correctly, she made them buns. Four buns on her head, two on each side, with two strands of hair breaking away to frame part of her face. It looked utterly unlike the cheerleader who let Dash beat her up.

She decided she liked it. And so when she grabbed her clothes she didn't carefully arrange colors or accessories. She threw on a white tank top and a pink one over it, grabbed a pair of gray jeans (screw fashion rules about light colors in winter, _she_ liked those jeans) and put on dark green ankle boots regardless of the rules about wearing contrasting colors. She grabbed some golden colored bangle bracelets out of her dresser, and applied only mascara and some pink eyeshadow before grabbing her black thigh length jacket and setting off for school.

The A-list was not where she went immediately. She didn't need to check in with them. They weren't her keepers. This time of year, everyone hung out in the halls while they waited for classes to start, and she went to her locker to put her coat away, heft her navy blue messenger bag over her shoulder, and seek out Star. The blonde took one look at her, the real confidence in Paulina's eyes, the way she held her head high, and smiled.

"You look amazing," Star said earnestly. "I haven't you so… you, since the last time you broke up with Dash – did you-"

"It's over forever and if he tries one thing I'm throwing him behind bars," Paulina said, earning a hug from Star. "Has Kwan asked you to the Snow Ball yet?"

"Yeah, on Saturday," she gushed. "He couldn't decide on chocolate or roses so he got chocolate roses. He's such a sweetheart."

"Are they still selling tickets for the dance at the office?" Paulina asked, gathering up courage as her stomach did flip flops.

There were a few A-listers lingering, 'accidentally overhearing' her conversation. Timothy Nixon, basketball star, Christopher Cole, the football star that was quickly stealing Dash's fame by simply being better and _not _being a jerk, and Claire Cordell, one of the female basketball players that also hung with the drama club kids, who were second tier popular. Paulina could practically see them planning on who to run off to tell this to, but she held her head high and pretended they weren't there. They weren't part of her life. She didn't have to live her life according to their guidelines. She wasn't their slave and this wasn't a job, she was Paulina first and cheerleader second. And that's why she threw this outfit together, because fashion was not a uniform and she never made any vows to follow everyone else's trends. She spared them a glance. Tim looked smug, probably because he'd had multiple girls ask him out, Chris looked merely curious, and Claire looked like someone had informed her that it was possible to turn lead into gold.

"Well, yeah, they don't close until the end of today," Star started, and then Paulina was off at a half run to get to the office, the bangles on her wrist clinking and rattling all the way.

* * *

Tucker didn't see Paulina until lunch.

If anyone had told him that what was about to happen was really going to take place, he'd have thought they were crazy. Everyone in school was talking about Paulina having some secret crush and how, in high school politics, dumping Dash and taking someone else to the dance was a definitive declaration it was over forever. Tucker, Sam and Danny couldn't have been more thrilled that abusive pompous football star was getting the boot in no uncertain terms. Paulina had also made news among girls, according to Sam, for not dressing like the other cheerleaders and telling Kayla Roland 'no one cares' when the brunette cheerleader had tried to make fun of her. Apparently similar slams had been uttered to Kayla, all culminating in 'you're exactly like a plastic bag'. This was a declaration of war in girl world, but Paulina was far from being scared of Kayla on any level. She was making waves not for the sake of making waves, but because she was going to stand up for herself from now on and be herself and anyone who didn't like it got a roll of the eyes, even if she was scared deep down the entire day.

This culminated in lunch time, where she got her tray, walked over to Tucker's table, and sat down beside Sam, who she gave a friendly smile. "You want to be partners in Bio today? I couldn't take another minute of Kayla's babbling."

"…sure," Sam said uncertainly, looking unsure how to react to Paulina now that they knew each as something besides Goth and cheerleader.

"Tucker, I have something to ask you after school," Paulina said brightly. "Would you mind meeting me at The Electric Bean?"

That was the fanciest coffee and sweets place in Amity Park. The place all the popular kids gathered. The social hub of anyone who was anyone and under the age of twenty. Tucker froze, burger midway to his mouth, but she held his gaze for a long moment. She was willing to risk social suicide to be his friend. He needed to get his own act together and step up. A friend wasn't a friend if they never spent time together, real time together. Even though he half expected some kind of coolness sensor to electrocute him at the entrance, he nodded. She smiled and took a bite of what passed for spaghetti in their school's cafeteria. Half the popular table was staring, but she reminded herself she wasn't their property, she was fully capable of making her own decisions. She forced her gaze off of them and onto Danny.

"You have rings under your eyes," she said casually. "Long weekend?"

"Uh, yeah," he said quickly, too quickly. "I'm in Mr. Piper's math class, and he assigns a ton of homework."

She set her fork down. "I'm in Piper's first period class. He's never assigned over the weekend homework."

Danny paled and fumbled for words. Sam jumped to his rescue. "It depends on what level math class you're in."

Paulina's eyes narrowed, studying Danny closely.

Never had the half ghost teen been so grateful for a ghost attack. It didn't burst through the wall, it walked through it, leaving a trail of smoke and shadowy black wisps behind it as it stepped out of the darkness. Paulina had enough time to register the ghostly gray skin, slicked back black hair and hypnotic eyes that seemed to shift between every color in existence before it raised a hand and leveled a black blast of energy at them. She felt Sam grab ahold of her and they rolled to the floor, scrambling under the table. Tucker rolled under as well as Danny made a run for the cafeteria doors.

"We need a distraction," Paulina and Tucker said at the same time. Sam's eyebrows shot up.

"So he can escape, duh," the Latina amended a touch too quickly. "Everybody needs to get out of the cafeteria right now."

"What are we supposed to do?" Sam hissed as the cafeteria erupted into chaos. "He's setting things on fire without even hitting them."

"Fire alarm," Tucker replied instantly. "Triggers the sprinklers – Paulina?"

The Latina girl rolled out from under the table. _Remember Mama. Remember Lexandro. Braver is he who is scared but fights anyway, right? Right. I can do this. Think of it as an improv routine or something. I can do this. Everyone needs me to do this. Go go go don't look back it'll be okay…_

She stepped up onto the nearest table and began to run, jumping from one to another, adrenaline setting her nerves alight. A blast of black fire hit a table as she leapt off of it and her balance was thrown; she barely had time to tuck her legs and arms into a cheerleader's roll before she landed, and she slammed down onto her side. Pain shot up through her right side, her ribs, but she grabbed ahold of the metal support bars of the table and pulled herself under, sliding on the tile. If she hadn't been sitting as far from the fire alarm as possible, she wouldn't be stuck like this, but as she rose up to get on another table, Danny Phantom burst in, blasting the shadow and fire ghost while it's attention was focused on Paulina. She didn't look back, she sprinted to the fire alarm and yanked it down.

Sam and Tucker were already yelling and directing people out the doors, so Paulina leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Her right side felt like someone was driving a knife into it repeatedly. The ghost screamed and howled at the water as it doused him. He turned his ever-shifting gaze to Paulina, who was too winded and busy nursing what felt like bruised if not broken ribs to react in time. He raised his hand, the only thing she could see in the layers of black fabric that made up his ragged outfit. She felt her knees give out underneath her. Lexandro and her mother should have been lessons. Heroes and wannabe heroes paid a steep price. If she'd worn her normal outfit and gossiped with Kayla about that nerdy girl in their History class she wouldn't be here right now. She would be out of the room, scared and safe. But she would also be the preppy cheerleader again. And she didn't like that person. That person wasn't her and the real her gulped down air, in pain but alive, finally knowing she had done _something_ real. Kneeling on the floor, clutching her side, she found herself unable to look away from the ghost glowering at her. If it was going to end her, she would at least face it as herself.

That was when Tucker grabbed a cup of water and threw it in the ghost's face. It screamed as smoke rose and it turned and ran into the darkness, leaving behind only small fires and several dozen shaken students. Tucker somehow outran Danny to get to her side. With his help, she stood. Her side burned and she could feel her pulse in it, but as quickly as the crisis had occurred, it was over, like some very strange dream she was having. In fact, everything was blurry and hard to hear like in her dreams, too…

She was hardly on her feet before she fell unconscious in Tucker's arms.

* * *

"_Mama is really scared," Paulina murmured to Lexandro as they stared at the creek that cut through the park in their town. "You've been acting really weird."_

_He didn't look up at her, staring at their mother's diamond rings cradled in his hand. Then, in one swift movement, he threw them into the nearby creek. Paulina shrieked and dove for them, but he grabbed her by the arms. She turned her luminous teal eyes to his face. There was something hard in his eyes, something dark and serious and painful. He knelt down to her level, still gripping her wrists. He was so unshakable, so determined. No one would ever guess the shallow cheerleader who let Dash put her around was ever related to this man, tall and stoic and passionate all at once.  
_

"_Listen to me, 'Lina. Those are nothing good. They aren't anything but rocks. Shiny rocks are the reason people have been doing horrible things to other people. People have died so other people could have shiny rocks," he explained gravely. "They bring nothing but pain and death wherever they're found, and by buying or wearing them you're saying you're okay with that."_

"_But your Papa gave them to Mama," she argued back, the bulk of his words soaring right over his head._

"_And? He didn't stay around, Paulina. He didn't love her. He just gave her things and acted nice so he wouldn't have to be alone. A shiny rock isn't love. A smile isn't love. Even a kiss isn't love."_

"_Then what _is_ love?" she challenged her older brother, frowning._

"_Someone who loves you won't bribe you with fancy jewelry. He'll give you something that means something to you. He won't always smile, but he'll be there when you need to cry. Even if he's not handsome, he will stick with you when everyone else doesn't. That's what love is."_

_She stared at the gushing waters of the creek, seeing for the first time the shine of light on water was prettier than the shine of diamonds._

* * *

"She knows," Sam whispered in a hushed tone.

Danny shook his head. "Tucker didn't tell her and, as much as there is I didn't know about her, she's not that smart."

"She's putting it together the longer she's together with Tucker. How much longer do you think you can lie to her without it getting tangled up with the truth? She's going to find out. Especially if she starts hanging out with us." The Goth girl bit her lip. "I can't believe she just bolted out like that. That's so crazy. What if it hadn't worked?"

"All that matters is it did. Sam, she saved you and Tucker from that thing," Danny said softly. "She's not as evil as we all thought she was. People change. People can become better."

"And that makes her being a breath away from your secret okay?!"

"No. But it means we shouldn't be jerks about her being friends with Tucker. What happened to that Goth 'accept those who are different' thing?"

"Don't use my subculture against me," she groaned, and that was when Tucker stepped out of the nurse's office. "How is she, Tuck?"

"They're guessing broken ribs," he said, but he was smiling softly. "She said a lot of awful things in Spanish when she woke up. I don't think she's fond of the new spook in town. But guys, you're never going to guess what else she said. We're going to the Snow Ball together! She even had tickets and everything!"

Danny and Sam stared at him silently in a mixture of horror and shock.


	8. Speak

**Author's Note: **I loved writing this chapter. I'm sorry if the high school insult trading fest seemed to go on for too long, but I felt like it was both age appropriate and it was good to expand on the number of people in the school. There have to be more jocks and cheerleaders named if only for the sake of realism. I also wanted to introduce some minor characters to give the school a bigger scope than just these few people.

I'd like to take a moment as we approach Christmas to express gratitude to all my reviewers, followers, and people who have faved this story. It means the world to me to have something I was scared to even post be received so well. The encouragement, the excellent bits of constructive criticism and the general attention has made me gain confidence in myself as an author, and I want you all to know that's an amazing feeling for me. Thank you all for all your support here and I'm sorry for the swerve I do towards the end of this chapter.

* * *

Paulina ended up with two fractured ribs, not broken ones.

The pain was like a knife being driven into her shoulder at times, but a few pills later and it was dulled enough to return her to school. She couldn't let herself sit down and think about her mother. She still hadn't processed Lexandro's death and it had been years. If she sat down and thought too hard about what happened to her mother she might fall back into that dark black where she had been when she'd laid on the floor unmoving. And her mother wouldn't have wanted that. She would have wanted her daughter to live life. It took until Paulina was in high school to realize what that actually meant.

Living actual life instead of being on autopilot was painful. It was invigorating. With her ribs the way they were she slipped into an orange button down shirt that ended at her fingertips, billowing out and complimenting her figure. Pants were painful to manage without moving her ribs, but she managed by laying on her bed and wiggling into the black velvet pants. Shoes were a Godsend; insert feet into cream colored boots, carefully shrug into cream colored jacket, and grab the bag with her right hand since her left side was out of commission.

It felt strange to go to school without make up, but she didn't really care. She was just glad everyone was alright and Danny had shown up. No one was hurt and Tucker had been a real _hero_. For _her_. She mattered to him, not as a cheerleader, but as a friend. And Sam had looked scared for her when she bolted out like she had gone from hating her to caring whether or not she lived or died. These were small steps, but steps in the right direction. Paulina kissed her father on the cheek, smiled her way out the door and made the short trek to school with her head held high.

* * *

Tucker sang in the shower. Not well, but he sang.

Paulina asked him out. Paulina asked him out, and they were friends, and she fought ghosts for him and the world had flipped upside down. And he liked it – liked how things had changed for the better, liked how she was being less fake, liked that he could have someone besides his normal group to hang out with. He trudged to school smiling despite the snow, and was immediately greeted by a group of Paulina's friends, the small group that wasn't cautiously avoiding her.

"So this is Xavier Walden," she said, introducing him to a gangly platinum blonde with dark blue eyes, decked out in way too many layers. "He's the best basketball player at school, don't listen to what the other jocks say."

Xavier sighed, seeming exasperated as if he'd gone over this before. "It's a team sport, Paulina. One guy doesn't win the whole thing. I couldn't win without my friends out there kicking ass beside me." Paulina rolled her eyes as he said hi to Tucker, looking much more at ease when Tucker agreed with him. "Nice to meet you, man. Thanks for looking out for Paulina yesterday. I wasn't even in the cafeteria then – that could've been a really bad scene."

"She took care of herself, really," Tucker said, making Paulina blush.

"And this is Macy West," the Latina continued, pushing a preppy looking girl forward. She had a sweatervest on over a button up shirt and nice dress slacks, and had bobbed red hair with eyebrow length bangs and the lightest blue eyes Tucker had ever seen. "She transferred here last month from Capstone Academy. She's been so great for the cheerleading squad. She'll do anything to help anyone; she'd be way more popular if Kayla didn't hate her so much for no reason."

"…hi," Macy said, so softly Tucker had to strain to hear her. She had a smattering of freckles on her tan skin, and a snub nose; though short, she was thin and flat chested, a bundle of sticks in nice clothes. "Um, it's nice to meet you. I'm in your Advanced Math class, I think?"

"Thanks. Hey, aren't you in my AP Computer class, too?" Tucker asked. She nodded, fiddling with a pearl bracelet on her wrist and looking at the ground. "That's great. You're like a perfect combination of cool and geek."

She blushed and mumbled out something that sounded like thank you.

"And you already know Star and Kwan," Paulina rushed in, coming to Macy's rescue. "I hope you liked that one date you got with Star, because she and Kwan'll be going down the aisle in no time."

"When Kwan decides to purpose," Star smirked, making Kwan throw his hands up in the air. "Pansy boy."

"I can't purpose without your parent's blessing! I've got to keep some Chinese traditions alive. Why does your dad hate me so much anyway?"

"Because you're dating me. Duh."

Tucker had to laugh at their group dynamic. Spotting Danny and Sam staring at them, he gestured for them to come over. After a moment of pause, Danny did, but Sam slammed her locker shut, grit her teeth and came three full seconds later, looking braced for impact. She looked between Xavier, Macy, Star, Kwan and Paulina like they were walking uncertainties. There was a tense moment even after Paulina cheerfully said hi. Danny introduced himself, but there was an air of tension to things until Macy, of all people, broke the nervous air by stepping forward and gingerly pointing to Sam's t-shirt.

"You like Clan of Xymox too?" she asked softly. Sam broke out into a grin.

"Yeah! I love the way their songs change tempo so smoothly, and they're so in-sync."

"I have their album _In Love We Trust_ on my iPod," Macy admitted quietly. "I really love it."

"Oh, that was Goth anti-love songs at their best," the Goth agreed, and Macy smiled back at her, timidly. "They just don't make albums like that anymore."

The two of them seemed to have reached an understanding just that fast, even if Sam wasn't at ease with Paulina just yet. Danny mentioned they'd used a song from that band in the trailer for the video game _Get Out Alive_, and then he, Kwan and Xavier were talking about games, with Tucker interjecting technical info where they didn't know something. Paulina accidentally steered the conversation onto art in video games by commenting the game looked beautifully done, and just like that the two groups had merged. Sam took out her iPod and was letting Macy listen to a Clan of Xymox song she hadn't heard when Dash and his group of friends rounded the corner.

Everyone quit talking, looking up from what they'd been doing. Tucker looked between Paulina and Dash. Her eyes were harder than diamonds as she stepped forward, casually sliding her hands into her pants' pockets, tilting her head like she was looking at an interesting jacket at the mall. Her heart was pounding and every time he'd ever hurt her went through her mind, but she wasn't alone. She had back up. And she wasn't going to let him control her life just because he was physically tougher. He had with him Aaron Lorengo, Marcus Franklin, and Eric Harrison, all fellow football players. Alongside them were Kayla Roland and Tiffany Cypress, fellow cheerleaders and class A problems in and of themselves.

"Didn't know you'd lowered your standards so much, Paulina," Dash opened with. It was a bad move.

"I know; I'm disappointed in myself too. Then I quit dating you."

Sam and Danny laughed; Tucker made an 'ooo' sound and Macy smiled. The jocks changed targets. Dash's smile was like a shark when he looked at Macy, whose face fell as if in preparation for an incoming blow. Looking to his posse as if to confirm the switch, the football star looked at the redhead's face as he spoke, enjoyment rolling off every word.

"So, did little miss Macy tell you why she got kicked out of Capstone? 'Cause it sure wasn't her grades."

Macy took two steps back, eyes wide, but Sam grabbed her wrist, purple eyes narrowing. "It doesn't matter."

"Oh, so you're fine being friends with a-"

"Yes, I am," Sam shot back loudly, pulling Macy a step behind her as if shielding her. The redhead buried her face in Sam's back, shutting her eyes. "It's called being progressive. Oh, I'm sorry, maybe I should use a word you can spell."

Kayla rushed to Dash's defense. "He doesn't have time for your babybat BS. Why don't you go throw on more eyeliner and listen to bad music?"

"That's your job," Tucker informed her point blank. Paulina turned and high fived him.

Eric stepped forward, having been Dash's wingman since seventh grade. "So Tucker, has Paulina told you everything she's done with Dash?"

"Yeah, she's mentioned a lot of bruises and one trip to the hospital," he said, all joking tones dropped from his voice. "Would really suck for all of you if any evidence got out, wouldn't it? This state has by-stander laws regarding abuse. You'd lose your spot on the team for sure."

Aaron and Marcus had to grab Dash to keep him from lunging forward. Maybe that's what they'd been brought there for, honestly. Kayla and Tiffany zeroed back in on Paulina. Sam still had a grip on Macy like she was trying to protect a little sister; she was waiting for a cue to go off on them, because even if she still barely knew Paulina, Sam was an inherently smart human being. Whatever Macy did to get kicked out couldn't get shouted out in the halls where other people might hear because it would become a rumor she could never escape from. Sam Manson was not about to let Dash bully someone else like that just because he didn't get to beat on Paulina anymore. And if Macy was too scared to speak her defense, Sam would speak up for her. That was just who she was. The cheerleaders saw it in her lilac orbs and turned their attention elsewhere.

"You look like crap," Tiffany sneered. "When has _that_ look ever been in style?"

Danny cut in. "Ever since she saved your life fighting ghosts yesterday. Where were you, checking your make up? Way to stick by your friends."

This argument probably could have gone on forever, but the bell rang, and they had to leave, each group eyeing the other with barely concealed hatred. Macy quietly asked Tucker if she could borrow his copy of _A Solitary Blue_ for English, since Kayla had taken hers. Sam fished it out of her own bag and told her to keep it; she'd go buy another copy. Danny and Xavier exchanged gamertags so they could play together online sometime, and Kwan apologized to Tucker for everyone on the football team being such jerks while Star helped Paulina get her books for class. It wasn't the worst way things could have ended – Macy looked delighted, and Danny and Sam were both seeing a whole new side to Paulina – but it was not a good end to their morning. High school was a cruel and twisted thing, and they would all be seeing each other again, and again, and again, until eventually the tension came to a head.

* * *

"…_and they leave black flames in their wake, leaving the people trapped, unable to look away from their eyes," Lexandro read to her. The purple, leather bound book was written in English, but he spoke three languages and prided himself on translating as he read, a skill he'd developed through practice and diligence. "If they look too deep into them, they cannot move a muscle._

"_Do they really have those ghosts in Africa?" his little sister asked him, wide eyed_

_He smiled at her. "Maybe. There's more out there than people want to admit, Lina. But they're far away, across an ocean and a continent. And they're not invincible. Nothing is. Beside, you'll always have me to protect you. Or Mama; she's scarier than a Tgaori."_

_Paulina laughed as her brother pulled the blanket up around her, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. "Do you think she's tougher than Solto?" She'd been following the news coverage of ghostly superhero in Mexico ever since it started; newspaper cutouts of him were taped next to her bed._

"_I think she probably trains him on the side. How do you think he got that good aim?" he asked, raising both eyebrows, and she giggled as he turned and walked to the door, turning off the light behind him. "If you have nightmares, blame the TV."_

_She smiled and snorted into her blanket as she turned over, nuzzling into her pillow._

* * *

She awoke from dozing off in History with a start.

Danny. She had to find Danny. She needed an excuse to get out of here right now – easy enough, she could ask to go to the bathroom, but where would Danny be? What class did he have right now? If she waited until lunch then there would be lots of people around to overhear what she said and put two and two together. She couldn't risk his secret like that. She needed to get ahold of him this instant. Eyeing Mr. Hoxhi, who was busy reviewing last week's test question by question, she carefully pulled out her cellphone under her desk and texted Tucker, asking where Danny was. All the while she was eyeing the clock, the teacher, the other students, a growing sense of urgency rising.

_why do u need to kno?_ Tucker texted her back after an agonizing twenty seconds.

_its ghost stuff he needs 2 kno now!_ Paulina replied almost insantly.

There was an agonizing pause before Tucker replied, _ms westington science_

Paulina bit her lip, thinking, before replying _tell him to meet me_

By the time Tucker had replied _OK_, her hand had shot up like a rocket. "Excuse me, Mr. Hoxhi, but I really need to go to the bathroom. Can I have a pass?"

"There's six minutes left," he sighed, but she was already moving forward to the front of the class. "But if nature calls, I guess we must answer. Be back before the bell rings, Ms. Sanchez."

The door was closed before he finished her last name. It was not a great distance to Ms. Westington's room, but she'd been walking slower since her ribs were hurt. They burned with the effort to get there on time. She bit the inside of her cheek to work past the pain and keep going, and when Danny appeared to meet her halfway spots were dancing before her eyes. For a moment, her vision went dark, but it snapped back. He looked at her, confused and paler than before, concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Not important. I know your secret, Danny. It's obvious," she said firmly, one hand wrapped around her injured side.

He froze and went positively white.

"I know you're the one who calls Phantom in whenever there's a problem. You disappear every time he shows up. I don't know how you get ahold of him – if you're like, telepathic or have a little ghost connection with your eyes or whatever. What I do know is exactly what kind of ghost hit the school yesterday and what it's powers are. I need you to get him to meet with me after school. I can help," she gushed out, fast and desperate and determined. "This thing is going to kill people if we don't do something. So can you do it?"

"…yeah," he said, breathing out heavily, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I can get you a meeting with Phantom."


	9. Stands

**Author's Note:** Well, we're nearing the end of everything, and things are coming together nicely. I'd like to thank everyone again for the follows and the reviews as I've been going through this insane rollercoaster of a fanfic. I'm going to be sad when the next chapter wraps everything up, but at the same time I feel accomplished this idea ever got past chapter one.

I have to say I'm sorry I wrote Lexandro as a post-houmous character. I actually really like the cheeky big brother; but without his death and the death of Paulina's mother, think of how royally screwed Amity Park would be by the end of this chapter alone. I'd also like to think this is her continuing to work rather than process grief, because that's just how some people are wired. I hope that makes sense to all of you and it doesn't sound like I'm just a bad writer.

As always, comments, ideas, suggestions, criticisms, critiques and thoughts in general are valued and appreciated.

* * *

"_They love diamonds and rubies, jewels of any kind, and as you gaze into their eyes they rip off ears and fingers to get to them-"_

"_Ew! Lex, that's so gross." Paulina gagged. "What would a ghost want with a jewel anyway?"_

"_It says here it makes them more powerful, but only for a while. When the jewels are used up they're thrown away, like batteries. And then they have to go get more." He looked up at her, thoughtfully. "So it's kind of like eating, for them."_

"_Can't they eat without hurting people or doing gross things?"_

"_Hmm. I suppose, if there was a jewelry store nearby…" Lexandro grinned. "It's like a buffet."_

_Paulina giggled as he shushed her, shoving the book under her pillow as the door opened. Their mother frowned at them, a hand on her hip. "Lexandro Epifanio Sanchez, are you reading ghost stories to your sister again?"_

"_Yes," he admitted, giving her a winning smile. "But if you give me a minute I can come up with a really good lie."_

_She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You think that smile can get you out of everything."_

_He shrugged, shameless. "Well, you're not doing much to prove me wrong, here."_

_As she facepalmed, her daughter laughed aloud._

* * *

Paulina felt her stomach churn as she patiently waited for Phantom to appear.

A month ago a meeting with the ghost boy would've had her screaming and cheering. She'd have put on her best make up and made sure to triple check her hair; she would have met him looking like the princess she always thought she was. Right now her hair was a bit tangled, her make up barely present and her pink lips pursed in a frown. She still hadn't figured out why or how ghosts from Africa would be here in Amity Park, of all places. Maybe the ghost boy knew? She was sure he didn't, though, or he'd have been hot on the trail of this thing.

She was tired already, and this stress was doing her no favors. She wished Tucker were here to cheer her up. Then again, Tucker was the reason she was standing here. She had to keep him safe and that meant making sure that the ghost boy stopped the Tgaori. Tucker would have done the same for her… he _had_ done the same for her. He'd thrown water at that thing at point blank range. It was a fluke that water was its' weakness. He could have been killed and he didn't even hesitate. All this time she'd thought he was just some nerd, but he was so brave. He'd been overshadowed by Phantom's heroism all this time, and she'd never seen what was right in front of her eyes. How could she be so blind? How could she have gone to school with him for this many years without seeing who he was?

The answer was obvious. She'd been so busy trying to make friends and be popular and surround herself with people to drown out the loss and fear of being alone in a foreign country she hadn't noticed anything. Ever since she began living with her father she'd been trying to build up a reputation and a circle of friends. All she'd succeeded in doing was digging herself into this hole where she had to act a certain way and do certain things. Escaping was proving to be harder than she had thought, but then again, she hadn't been aware of how truly trapped she was until she finally cried in front of Tucker. Until she genuinely broke down, she hadn't even known she was fake.

When Phantom arrived, flying out to meet her behind the school, her initial greeting was, "Finally! We have, like, a total situation on our hands here."

He looked at her, wondering where the crazed fangirl he remembered had gone. "…sorry. So, um, what is it you know about-"

"This ghost is this African ghost thing called a Tgaori. They eat jewels and hypnotize people and tear chunks out of them. The fire thing they do is just to get people to look at them 'cause their eyes are like, I don't know, it's how they get people to just stand there while they rip them apart," she gushed, explaining quickly. "My brother knew lots about Africa, and he used to tell me about ghosts from there. I was a big Solto fan as a kid."

"Solto?"

"He's like, a ghost that fights ghosts down in Mexico. He was totally my first crush. Anyway, that's not important right now. What is important is that you stop the Tgaori so nobody gets hurt," she said, biting her lip nervously. "I think I've figured out why it came to school, even if I don't know how it got here from Africa."

He looked suitably impressed. "And why did it come here, then?"

"The preppy girls all have jewelry, and it likes diamonds the most. So it came to the cafeteria to get something someone was wearing. Duh."

"But this is a high school, not a jewelry store."

"There's two hundred something girls here. Somebody had to have _something_ expensive on them," she pointed out. "That's just how life works."

"So anywhere crowded could be a target," he said, finally landing instead of hovering there in front of her. His expression grew thoughtful. "So long as there's a lot of women or even the right kind of guys in a building together, they're all targets."

Paulina sighed, feeling deflated. "Sorry. I thought I could help more."

"This _is_ helping. It's just that this is a city, and I can't be everywhere at once." He ran a hand through his hair. "If they're weak to water-"

They were cut off by a scream from over by the bleachers. Phantom took off in a blur, and Paulina tried to follow, but her ribs burned and she stumbled, pain searing through her until all she could do was lean against the wall and watch him from a distance.

* * *

Kayla screamed as Macy yanked her backwards. Black flames licked the ground where the cheerleader had stood a second before.

The Tgaori's eyes were locked on the diamond bracelet around Kayla's wrist. The brunette cheerleader turned, but her friend Tiffany had bolted. She'd been down for bullying Macy together, she just didn't want to deal with this together. The timid redhead tried to remember how Sam had put herself in front of her as a shield, but Macy's eyes darted around, unable to look the evil ghost right in the face. Her knees were shaking as she put an arm out to block Kayla from stepping forward. She turned, seeing the bewitched look on Kayla's face, and frowned.

"I'm sorry about this," she muttered, and then she shoved Kayla back so she fell onto the ground. Yanking off her scarf, she knelt to tie it around the bully's eyes only to jump as black flames licked at her feet. Macy didn't turn, couldn't look, was too scared, and thank God she was or she'd have been shoved under the same spell. She did scream, though, hands shaking as she wrapped the scarf around the dazed cheerleader.

"Leave them alone!" Danny yelled, and the Tgaori turned just in time to get a blast of green energy to the face.

The shadowy ghost hissed and turned into smoke, manifesting behind Kayla, who Macy now had a death grip on. With deceptive ease, he grabbed the cheerleader from Macy's arms, yanking her up by the arm. His mouth was small but his teeth were sharp, biting down and ripping away skin as he pulled back, snapping the clasp on the bracelet. Danny hit him with a blast of energy, but the second the diamonds were in his mouth the Tgaori seemed unphased by it, eyes locking with Danny's. They were hypnotic, flashing and morphing through colors, flecked with other colors, ringed with others… Danny's arms went slack at his sides as he stared into the ghost's eyes. The Tgaori grinned, a vicious expression, chuckling darkly.

"Looks like you're not all ghost, are you?" he purred, stepping forward. Danny tried to step back and stumbled. That voice was like a choir all on its own, so many notes, so perfect. He tried to look away and found the edges of his vision going dark. The world narrowed down to only this beautiful eyed creature and he had to remind himself he was trying to fight this guy. "What are you, half and half? Some human's child, playing hero-"

Then a snowball hit the Tgaori in the face. He hissed, shaking his head to get the wetness off of him, but Paulina threw another one, and Macy hit him with one from behind, and his spell had worn off of Danny, who fell back as the Tgaori turned to smoke, vanishing in a brief breeze. Just like that, it was over.

Kayla was sobbing in pain as Macy wrapped her scarf around the cheerleader's wrist, making soft shushing sounds, trying to stop the bleeding. Paulina was beside him, asking if he was okay, but before he could speak he'd sunk to his knees, feeling dizzy and dazed still. He choked on a cry as familiar white rings appeared around him, the change too fast to stop, and then Danny Fenton was staring up at Paulina, who was on her phone with 911. To her credit, she kept the focus of the call on Kayla, but her teal eyes never left his blue ones. There was shock and yet, as she stared at him, all the pieces were coming together in her mind. Under any other circumstances she might start asking questions. Fortunately for him, there was a more pressing matter at hand as Kayla shook and whimpered, cradled in Macy's bony arms. Macy looked at Danny with concern, like she'd like to ask if he was alright, but she had her hands full.

The ambulance found them silent and shaking, Danny barely able to stand, swaying with every step, Macy pulling Kayla to her feet and trying to hold up someone who weighed more than she did, Paulina looking like she'd witnessed a train wreck. As they were loaded into the ambulance against Macy and Paulina's objections they were fine, the others needed it more, a sort of unspoken pact was made: Danny was not Phantom. They each jumped in to tell the story of how the ghost boy had gone off to chase the Tgaori and left them alone. The dazed boy looked between the three girls, whose details all supported this theory, painting a picture that left out any incriminating evidence against Danny.

He was still in shock when, at some point before they arrived at the hospital, he slipped into sleep.

* * *

"Macy?"

"Um, yeah?"

Kayla squeezed the redhead's hand with her good one as the nurse peeled off the scarf. She bit back most sound, but tears still fell down her cheeks. "Why didn't you leave me back there?"

"Well, uh, they made us all get in the ambulance…"

The brunette cheerleader turned her moss green eyes towards the other girl, glaring. "You know what I mean."

"…I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Why?" She hassled the other girl on a daily basis.

She shrugged. "You're a person. That's enough for me… Sam said I should try to be more assertive. So, so that's it, then. I did what I did because I wanted to and you needed it. So there." She wrapped her other hand around Kayla's as they began bandaging it up. "Shh. It's okay. I'm here."

"…Macy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

* * *

Tucker and Sam arrived at Danny's house together.

It was a little surreal, with Paulina, Danny and Jazz drinking hot cocoa and sitting around the Fenton's kitchen table. Jack and Maddie were out looking for the new ghost, so the house was theirs for the moment. Macy had sent some texts to Paulina updating her about Kayla's status, but she was going to stay with the brunette cheerleader until she felt safe on her own. Apparently Kayla was now thoroughly scared of jewels and thought the hospital was safest, and her ensuing hysterical breakdown had earned her a trip to the psychiatric wing for the night, where Macy was going to stay until they made her leave. Paulina vouched for the redhead's ability to keep Danny's secret; she had nothing to gain from revealing it, anyway.

So now they were sitting around the Fenton's kitchen table, Paulina with a battered purple bound book in front of her. It was open to a page that held a remarkable rendition of a Tgaori on it, although Paulina's attention was diverted when Tucker arrived.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he said to her, rushing over to hug her. She cringed at the minor pressure to her ribs, and he released the Latina gently, looking sheepish. "Sorry. So, um, uh…"

"I know about Danny," she confirmed. "And so does Macy. Kayla's actually blocked some of it out, so she's not sure what happened other than the biting part. She's not dealing with this very well."

Sam held back a comment on how the snob had it coming, picturing what that kind of wound would be like and shuddering. She sat down beside Danny as Tucker took a seat by Paulina. The Goth asked quietly, "Is she going to be alright?"

Paulina shrugged, feeling helpless.

Jazz cleared her throat. "From a psychological perspective, it's the same as if she'd been mugged. She'll have nightmares, develop an aversion to what she perceives set off her attacker, and might need therapy to feel safe on her own again. But so long as she has a support network, she'll be fine."

"Given what the A-list is like…" Sam started, then paused, remembering Paulina was sitting right there.

"…she's screwed," Paulina finished. "But for now she's fine. We need to get this thing gone for good so it won't keep hurting people. I mean, three of us plus Danny barely got it off of Kayla, imagine if it attacked someone alone at night."

"Squirt guns," Tucker declared, getting blank looks from everyone. "I'm not kidding. We get ahold of squirt guns and load them up, and get something together to draw it in."

Jazz hummed thoughtfully. "Well, the book says it likes jewels and precious stones, but every house in this part of town has that."

With a sigh, Sam pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm loaded, remember? I'll just get everything I can carry from my house and-"

"And what?" Danny interrupted. "Act like a distraction? Live bait? You could get killed."

"Well, I don't see you coming up with anything better. And you'll be busy fighting it, so unless someone else wants to volunteer-"

"I'll do it."

All eyes turned to Paulina, who looked firm in her resolve. "Think about it. It's seen me before, it'll want revenge. It says here that vengeance is as attractive as eating is to them. I have things I can bring from home, too. This thing is strongest in the dark and outdoors, so we'll use an alleyway somewhere so the rest of you can hide. It'll be on me in minutes and you'll have your ghost, and everything will be okay."

Tucker was the first to object. "But what if it gets you?"

"I know what I'm doing. I'm coming back, Tuck."

"But-"

She swallowed hard, remembering her brother's embrace as he told her he promised he'd be home before she knew it. _Better to die standing for something than live for nothing._

"I promise, I'm coming back."


End file.
